Root Words

What are root words?

Root letters are letters that form the main part of a word. Most of the Arabic words are constructed from root letters.
These root letters provide the basic lexical meaning of the word. They are joined along with some other letters to form
different words which have related meanings. Just as the root determines the type of plant, the genes determine the
characteristics of a person; similarly roots determine the meaning of the word.
Example: the root - joins together to form the original word = (Rahim): womb. Mercy is derived from the
womb. If we understand the mercy of a mother, then we can understand the concept of mercy that is related to this
root. Thus, the root gives the characteristic of mercy.
How many letters does a root consist of?
Most Arabic words have three letter roots and rarely four or five letter roots, and they always maintain their order /
specific arrangement.
Example: = knowledge and = action ( changing the order gives a completely different meaning!)

What comes out of a root?
From one set of root letters, come multiple stem words (--- ) and from them many words emerge out, like from the
roots of a plant; the stem and many branches emerge.
For example, the root gives the stem words: '= (ilm) and '= (alam). Furthermore, from the stem word '=
(ilm) comes the branching words ', (yalamu), ,'= (aleem), '= (aalim) etc; and from '= (alam) comes the
branching words -'= , (aalameen) etc.

Does anything else affect the root meaning?
In a word, we have the root letters and other letters that share the basic root meaning. In English we have stem words,
for example eat: eating, eats, ate, eaten, eatery, eatable. Other letters are sometimes before, between and also after
the root letters.
Example: ; _ _ are the root letters. If you add an extra : you get , , -_ (Raheem): Always all merciful
If you add a at the end: you get -_ (Rahmaan) : Most merciful

Why are root words important?
To know the translation of the word, and to analyze the word; knowing the root is essential. Also, to use the Arabic
dictionary one must know the root of the word.

Match the word with its root: Write the root for the following words:
Word Root Word Root
` ` - _ _ ` ,

` -` , _ ,` , -` ,

` ` ` _ . :

.` ` , .

: . _ .` ,` .`